Mike Painter's Triumph

Close your eyes and picture Cape Cod. What do you see? Salty seamen in Nor'wester rain gear? Ivy League douchebags in matching blazers? Ed Kennedy wadding up the family sedan in Chappaquiddick? Squint harder. Any beardos on greasy choppers come to mind? Didn't think so. Mike Painter from Wareham, Massachusetts, is working hard to change America's perception of The Cape, one blog at a time.

I met the man behind MassholeMoto.com at the DicE party in Boston last month. Mike and his crusty Triumph struck me as the kind of team that makes an instant impression wherever they go, and this beer-soaked soiree was no exception. I warmed up to the gregarious chopper freak instantly, and picked his brain about the bike and the scene he's built on the shores of American Camelot. Here's his story…

Tell us about your local scene.

In Cape Cod we're mostly a bunch of knuckleheads who like to ride and wrench on bikes, drink some beers and BS with each other about everything involved with that. Typical chopper shit.

Ever run into the Kennedys?

I was doing lawn work for a crew on the Cape. One of our clients was the Kennedy Compound. I rolled up with my mower and tried to keep a low profile. One of the Kennedys was saying good-bye to some visitors. After his guests left he walked over to me and started busting my balls because I didn't introduce myself before stepping onto his property. I was trying to be mellow and he was sweating me for not saying hi! I told him I was just mowing the lawn, and if he didn't like it he could fuck off. That didn't go over great, so I packed my shit and hauled ass.

You were pretty steamed up at the jump-off point for last month's Greasebag Jamboree. What happened?

I made it up to Boston on Friday and Lexington for the ride on Saturday but before we left my clutch cable snapped. After getting trailered up to Laconia by Wayne from Acme Choppers, we threw a new cable on and I made it to the campground in time to party with everyone that night. Next day we headed off to the Greasebag swap meet and everything went smooth, but on the way home a few of us were heading south in a group down the back roads of NH 20 miles south of Laconia when it snapped again, leaving me stranded 100 miles from home.The highway was right down the street so instead of waiting a few hours to get picked up I pop started it and ran for the highway south back to Mass. Fifteen miles down the traffic was backed up for miles so we split lanes until it opened up again then a few more miles, same thing. We got through the bumper-to-bumper with little trouble, but the toll booth was another story. One of the guys ran up ahead of me and paid my toll so I could fly thorugh. I made the 85 miles back Made it 85 miles,south of Boston with no cable.Had a new one on 20 min after I got the bike back home.

What got you into the blogosphere?

My buddy's were always buggin' me for pics of rides and other shit we were doing: party's, show, bars, whatever, so I figured it was the easiest way to share photos.

see how much fun you have when you hang in my hood......all are welcome.
don't be a sucka!! big ups to el p for hanging, most cats get scared and want to stay in town. mcgoo and painter held true and came correct when i brought them into my hood. real deal dudes up for any thing......